“This is Stargazer, as requested,” Uncle Damian said into the ship’s comms. 

“Welcome, Stargazer,” a voice replied, speaking from among the many glinting buttons on the control panel. Nick still hadn’t figured out where the sound game from. “This is Envoy. Chart parallel course.”

“Will do.”

“Please stand by.”

Damian, and his number two, Triskar, sitting at the controls beside him, piloted the ship, hands dancing over the buttons like a pianist over the keys. Nick felt the ship lurch slightly to the right as they finished their ditty, and Damian slumped back into his seat. 

The three of them sat in the command room of the Stargazer, Uncle Damian’s ship. The control console took up one whole wall, and three quarters of two others. Nick sat in the one quarter remaining, in a small chair crammed between the edge of the console and the wall, watching them work. 

“Comms are off,” Damian said too causally, glancing over his shoulder at Nick. 

Nick felt a tad patronized, but he did have a dozen burning questions, so he ignored it. “What’s going on? Where are we?”

“We’re looking for a job,” Damian said.

“Then why aren’t we at Qeltan-One? With Meria?”

“There’s more than one place in the galaxy to get a gig,” Damian said defensively. “These diplomats will pay well.” 

They would also, as diplomats, face far less laser fire than their last job had gotten them. After sneaking into a top secret military base, accidentally kidnapping and then getting in a knife-slash-laser gun battle with a warrior alien prince, Damian had insisted on a less dangerous job for their next mission. 

As an aside: bringing a laser gun to a knife fight really should have gone better than it had.

Nick had complained loudly and frequently, complained up until Damian got that dangerous glint in his eye, after which Nick would lay low for fear of being sent back to Earth, but, to be perfectly honest, he was okay with a calmer mission, too. The events in the Gri system had shown Nick how out of his depth he really was.

Nick’s introspection was interrupted by a chirp from the comm system. Damian tapped a button and two heads appeared on the screen, male and female, both narrow, with fine features, striking orange eyes, and long, white hair that looked like it was fluttering in a ship-board wind.

“Greetings,” Damian said. “I take it you’re the masters of the Envoy?”

“I am Prince Et of Reita,” the man said. “And this is my sister, Princess Asl.”

“Your highness.” Damina dipped his head. “Highnesses.”

The man, Et, quirked an eyebrow while his sister stifled a small smile. 

“What can I do for you?” Damian asked.

“We need transportation,” Princess Asl said. 

“Yes, and that thing you’re currently flying just won’t do at all.” Damian tapped a few buttons and the royals’ head shrunk while the main screen was taken up by a wide shot of their ship. Nick gasped.

The ship was a rounded cone, like if you took an egg and dragged the short side out until it came to a point. It was hard to see the exact dimensions of the ship, because the whole thing was covered in sheets of metal, sprouting out of the body of the ship and fluttering through space. They looked like ribbons, twisted and arched, but they were metal, solid metal, glistening a gray-blue color. The ripples looked like a dancer’s dress, and made the ship seem to be constantly in motion.

“What is that?” Damian asked. “A nebula-class battle ship.”

“It’s a Reitan flagship, of a new model,” Prince Et said. “It’s the pride of our fleet.”

Nick noticed that he didn’t confirm or deny the classification. 

“So I ask again,” Damian said, “why can’t the Envoy carry you where you need to go.”

“We need to go to Blen,” the princess said. “But the most direct route takes us through the Iltan Principate.”

Damian nodded. “And they’re longtime enemies of Reita.”

“My sister and I have reached out to them in the past,” Et said, “but they’ve been… short with us. It will take years to unravel the animosity between our systems, and we don’t have time to go around them.”

“So you can’t take the Envoy, or you’ll start a war,” Damian said, then added, in a low voice, “and probably win it.”

“Exactly.” Asl nodded. “We were hoping that you would take us to Blen on your ship. We could travel through Iltan space easily.”

“Iltan won’t be a problem,” Damian said. “But Blen might be. There’s a warrant out for my arrest in that system.”

“What?” Nick asked. Damian waved him away. The royals looked surprised that he was there. 

“That shouldn’t be a problem,” Asl said. “We have diplomatic credentials for Blen. They won’t bother you as long as you’re with us.”

“We might even convince them to pardon you,” Et said.

“Lovely,” Damian said. “Not lowering the price for that.”

Et frowned, but Asl looked like she was trying not to laugh. “We will pay whatever rate you ask, as long as we get there fast,” she said.

Her brother looked like he was about to argue with the ‘name your price’ negotiating tactic, but she gave him a look and he said nothing.

“What do you say, Captain?” Asl asked. “Will you help us?”

Damian didn’t hesitate. “Be at the airlock in half an hour.”

In half an hour, Nick stood beside Damian, staring up at the ceiling. The airlock, a round porthole in the ceiling, blinked, then dilated open. Prince Et clambered down the ladder that extended itself to the ground. He carried a large sack with him, like Santa’s bag, but with a combination lock at the top. He reached the bottom and turned toward them, straightening his clothes.

The prince was a good six inches taller than Nick. His white hair was loose, and almost reached his shoulders. His suit was expertly tailored and had the tight diagonal wrapping around his chest, accentuating his chest and pecs, that RX-9 had told Nick was an old Imperial style, but the fabric was pattered, a dark brown with blue pressed onto it in swirls and waves. It reminded Nick of the Envoy, and was most certainly not one of the Imperial styles RX had taught him about. 

Et stepped forward and held his hand out to Damian, palm out, like a high five where he tucked his elbow close to his chest. Damian mirrored the gesture, tapping the prince’s palm quickly with his own.

The airlock blinked again, and Princess Asl began her climb down. Nick was distracted by her arrival, and didn’t notice Et’s outstretched hand until Damian elbowed him. Nick hurriedly copied the greeting, face burning slightly. 

“That’s a tight fit, isn’t it?” Asl said as she reached the ground, straightening her clothes like her brother did as the ladder retracted into the ceiling.

“The Stargazer is first and foremost a battleship, your highness,” Damian said, offering her the same greeting as Et. “It wasn’t made for comfort.”

Asl nodded. She was dressed almost identically to her brother, though her white hair was tied in a bun. Nick wondered whether they tried to look alike, and why. “Greetings, Captain. And…” she trailed off.

“Nick,” Damian offered, with no more explanation. The royals shared a glance and shrugged.

“Greetings, Nick,” Et said. 

“Uh, hi.” Nick blinked several times. 

“We have an open room for you, right this way.” Damian pointed behind them, and the royals parted to let him through. “I hope you don’t mind sharing one room; it’s all we have.”

“I suppose I can endure Et’s snoring for a few nights.” Asl sighed dramatically as she followed Damian down the hall. Her brother ignored her.

“That will be fine, Captain,” he said. “Though I must admit, you’ve got a larger crew than I was expecting.” 

They stopped soon, in front of the door closest to the airlock. Damian tapped the control pad and the door retracted into the wall. “Big enough,” he said to Et. 

“A ship like this can sleep seven, right?” Et asked.

“You might meet the crew around the ship,” Damian said. “Though Evech doesn’t come out much. If you need me, I’m two doors down.” He pointed further down the hall.

“Not the Captain’s quarters?” Et asked.

“Those are otherwise occupied,” Damian said. “Though I’m the captain so you could say that my room is always the captain’s quarters, no?” He didn’t wait for a response before saying, “I should go help Triskar set our course. Nick can show you around the ship if you’d like. We should reach our destination in about three days.”

Three days later, Nick stood alone in front of the royals’ closed door. He reached for the controls, then thought better of it and knocked on the door. A muffled thump came from inside the room, followed by a, “Come in.”

Nick opened the door and stepped inside. The room was identical to his own, on the other side of the ship. Narrow, barely bigger than the bed, off-white walls that probably started as white and dark carpeting, the kind that was almost a single smooth surface, it was so rough. The room to the closet was open, though it looked like the bag Prince Et had carried was the only thing in it. Prince Et himself was sitting on the floor in the narrow space by the foot of the bed. His sister was on the bed, cross legged, dress spread out around her in a near perfect circle, holding her hands open in her lap, eyes closed. 

“Um, are you alright?” Nick asked.

Asl opened her eyes and looked at him. Her striking orange eyes looked straight through him, focusing on something beyond him. Then she blinked, and the strange look was gone. “Everything’s fine,” she said. 

“Uh, Uncle Damian wanted me to tell you that we’re almost to Blen,” Nick said. The passage through the Iltan Principalities had been incredibly smooth. “He wants you two in the control room before we leave hyperspace, so you can call the authorities when we get there.” Damian’s actual words had involved the phrase ‘don’t get blown out of the sky,’ but Nick didn’t think he was supposed to convey the message literally.

Asl nodded. “We’re ready now.”

Et stood up and grabbed his bag out of the closet.

“Um, what was… that?” Nick asked. “What you were doing just now? Before I came in.”

“A simple ritual,” Asl said. “Trying to see a bit of the future.”

“You can do that?” Nick asked.

Asl shrugged. “I’m not really strong enough to do it in hyperspace.”

“Have you never met someone who could touch the Tree?” Et asked.

“Sorry, the Tree?” Nick asked.

“The Tree of the Universe,” Et said, explaining nothing but acting like he was explaining everything. “The beginning of everything? The energy that ties all life together, reaching back through the ages?”

Nick shook his head. “I’ve never heard of something like that. You mean you can actually see the future.”

“Not the future, exactly. What could happen, not always what will,” Asl said. “It’s the way I touch the Tree.”

“She’s very good at it,” Et said proudly. “She’s quite renowned on Reita.” 

Asl rolled her eyes. “I’m fine, just… fine. Let’s get moving,” she said, changing the subject. “How soon were we supposed to leave hypersp—“ 

She paused as a shudder ran through the ship. Nick and Et were fine, but Asl took a shuddering breath, and Nick was reminded of how he had responded his first time jumping to hyperspace. 

“Looks like we’re there,” Nick said. “Damian will want us on the bridge—“

He was cut off by the sound of a warning bell. Damian’s voice, cackling through the ship’s address system, was urgent as he said, “Everyone, hold on tight. Nick, get up to the bridge now.”

The ship moved. Nick stumbled against the wall. His gut twisted as the ship banked, his stomach sinking through the floor. “We should go,” he said to the royals.

“What’s going on?” Asl asked. 

Nick could only shrug. He turned and raced down the hall, Et and Asl following after. He kept one hand against the wall so he could steady himself as the ship moved unpredictably, and managed to keep to his feet as he raced down the hallway. He reached the door of the bridge and ran in, throwing himself into his usually chair by the door. It felt good to be seated while the ship moved.

The royals charged into the bridge after him. “What’s going on?” Et demanded 

Damian’s voice was level, his eyes glued to the screen. “Your highnesses, the ship is under attack.”